Spring Chicks

We are taking a break from school work thanks to my daughter’s recent proclivity for head impact injuries. Instead we are stepping up our animal husbandry skills. Knowing how badly my husband wanted more chickens and how unlikely he was to build them a coop unless the pressure of growing chicks made it an immediate need, I drove to the next state over and imported eleven day-old chicks.

Mostly Black Copper Marans, these little guys are fluffy, adorable, stinky and loud. We loved them immediately but after a few days of having them inside our house, the charm wore off. They really do stink. In fact, chickens stink far more than pigs ever have. Pigs are just bigger and muscled their into the title of ‘stinkiest’.

When the chicks first came they lived in a Rubbermaid tote that Mark, my husband, made into a brooder box. It worked fine for keeping the chicks warm and safe from our cats but it didn’t do a thing for the stench.

So I set to cleaning up the old rabbit hutch that Mark swore just needed to be burned.

It has worked out just fine as a new, outdoors and well-ventilated abode for the wee chickies. We close them into the nest box at night with their light and let them roam around during the day.

So far as we can tell, it’s raccoon-proof, fox-proof and possum-proof and we have no little bit of experience in these matters.

Our house smells much better now, thank you very much.

And the chickens? Well, they’re doing fine but they better start laying soon! I mean, they are two weeks old now.

(and I’m only kidding about the laying for those of you who don’t speak sarcasm.)

 

Amicis Italian Restaurant, Suffolk, VA

We are officially recognizable to the staff at Amici’s in Suffolk, a fact which speaks for itself. There are two Italian restaurants within a short walk from the public lot on E Washington Street, just behind the Courthouse. We head to Amici’s every time. The food, the service, the professionalism and the welcome are amazing, especially when contrasted against the antagonistic atmosphere at that ‘other’ place. In South Suffolk, good food at a good price is difficult to find.

We have been delighted by the service from the male staff members and not so delighted the one time we were served by a female (who turned out to be the manager.) While the food and beverage service was adequate, there were some comments that made me uncomfortable and which diminished my typical 20% tip by quite a lot. I’m chalking the comments up to a bad day and hoping we won’t have that experience again.

The wine list is excellent, in my opinion, though I admit to being deprived of decent wine after 6 years in the wilds of  South Suffolk. Amici’s sports a wine list that ranges from budget through not-too-expensive but is loaded with reputable wines such as Chianti Docg and Layer Cake Cabernet (yum!). Monday’s they offer half price bottles of wine with the purchase of an entree.  You want beer, you say? Oh my. Amici’s is the place for you. They have a wonderful selection of domestic and imported beers and a few delicious varieties on tap–Blue Moon is one of them and my favorite.

Yes, they do serve food! Saving the best for last is all about the pizza. Specifically, the Magic Mushroom pizza. We haven’t tried the New Yawka yet but I’m all for it. Everything we’ve tasted thus far has been good, not always great, but always satisfying and tasty. Amici’s serves the Parthenon of Shrimp Scampis, a 4-square stack of the best focaccia ever dowsed with lemony, garlic sauce and sprinkled with shrimps. We are a long way from having tasted everything on the menu but we have yet to send anything back or to leave anything on the plate because it wasn’t good.

Amici’s get’s a solid three thumbs up from me for their location, variety, bar and service.

 

5 Points Community Farm Market

Norfolk, Virginia is fortunate. The city is home to the 5 Points Community Farm Market, a place where local farmers, local foodies and local do-gooders converge. For those of us who agree that eating chemical free, as locally as possible, and as fresh as possible, 5 Points is the place to go. The Market offers local produce, meats, fish, and dairy products. They also open their doors to other local ‘Green’ businesses. I love that they are so willing to spread the goodness/share it with other like-minded folks. 

Today I ate my first lunch at the little counter top restaurant inside the Market and was delighted with the food. I love to eat well. One thing that my husband and I agree on is that spending our money properly involves using it to purchase excellent food for our family. Lunch was outstanding. The Red Lentil Soup was just as good as Pasha’s (a local eatery renowned for their red lentil soup)and far less expensive. The tomato sandwich was delicious and served with a hearty helping of potato salad. The sandwich had several types of tomatoes, was served on hearty bread with spinach and a tasty herbed mayo. The potato salad wasn’t my favorite but only because the potatoes weren’t cooked through. The flavor was good. I will definitely go back there again for lunch.

5 Points Community Market gets a 5 Thumbs Up from me.

 

Williams-Sonoma, MacArthur Mall, Norfolk, VA

Ever since Williams-Sonoma opened it’s doors at MacArthur Mall in Norfolk, I have made an effort to shop there. I love the selection, quality and lastingness of the products at the W-S stores. Sadly, my dollars have all to often left with me instead of finding a spot in the cash register at this particular W-S location.

The products draw me in, the staff repels me, time after time. There is one sales person who manages to taint the experience almost every time I visit the store. The first time I went into the W-S, I was in search of a food processor. When I shop, I generally know what I want and have simply arrived to procure that item. It was one very similar to this model:

Priced around $300.00. This is a big-ticket kitchen accessory. There was one sales person in evidence and after about 10 minutes of standing around awaiting service, or even eye-contact, it became apparent that her wide-eyed flirtation with another customer was the only thing happening in the sales department. Eventually I approached and said, “Pardon me?”
She fixed me with a killing stare and said, “I’m helping this customer now. You wait until I’m finished.” Her tone was chilling.
Now, I am not known to be fainthearted and so I waited another 5 minutes or so in hopes that she would eventually sell something, a fork or herself, to this gentleman. When I left the store, exasperated, after waiting and milling about for almost 20 minutes, she was still batting her thin, blonde lashes at the other ‘customer.’ He still had not made a purchase. I have no idea where the other employees were. On break?
It took me a while to get over it and decide to give the W-S store another try. It was Christmas and my kids love cooking. W-S has some nice, kid-friendly, cooking gear. I found a different sales person and made my purchase, along with some Colonna brand olive oil which tastes good and makes my Dad happy because our surname is Colonna.
On every subsequent trip to the Norfolk W-S, I have had to deal with this same sales woman. She is horrible. A veritable troll. I suspect that she is now a manager. How? How can someone so completely unsuited for customer service become a manager in an upscale gourmet store? I just don’t get it. When I asked if I could purchase a new blade for my apple peeler-corer-slicer, she rolled her eyes and did not respond. She blatantly belittled my choice of cookware when I wanted to purchase a smaller, copper cookware set rather than a larger, stainless cookware set. Did the prospect of future sales of other copper pieces evade her? Maybe she just doesn’t like the way I look? In the end my feeling is that my money is better spent elsewhere and I have made my purchases accordingly. I have even driven to Williamsburg to buy things at a W-S location with a staff composed of competent, helpful people.
I cannot recommend that anyone frequent the Norfolk, VA location of Williams-Sonoma based on my own experiences with this one, awful, short, blonde, middle-aged woman. Try the Virginia Beach or Williamsburg stores. Shop online. Find another cookware vendor like The Kitchen Barn at Hilltop. Customer service is an important and valuable asset. One which the W-S at MacArthur Mall does not possess.